How the Fully Automatic Laundry Folding Machine Was Born Amidst Internal Skepticism

A series of interviews visiting Japanese venture companies developing innovative businesses, exploring their passion for their ventures and their vision for the future society. The third installment features Seven Dreamers Laboratories (hereafter Seven Dreamers), a "technology collective creating things the world has never seen," spanning genres like carbon golf shafts, the nasal insert device "Nastent" supporting snore-free sleep, and the fully automatic laundry folding machine "Landroyd." Shinichi Sakane, the company's representative, was visited by Hidetoshi Kurashige, head of the creative think tank DENTSU SOKEN INC. B Team, which creates things the world has never seen before.

An Innovation Spirit Cultivated During His Studies in the U.S.

Kurashige: Seven Dreamers truly creates a diverse range of products. Since I dreamed of becoming an inventor from elementary school, I'm deeply interested in your development style. What led you to start this business, Mr. Sakane?

Sakane: My father was actually an inventor himself. From a young age, we worked on various projects together. When I was in my first year of junior high, my father, who was then a researcher, left his corporate job to start a company focused on invention, or rather, research and development.

I grew up watching that, went on to a science and engineering university, and eventually completed my doctoral studies in the US. The research I did there has had a significant impact on my current work.

Kurashige: Actually, I too, while now working as a Creative Director, majored in science and engineering in university. From the perspective of having experience in both Japan and the US, what were the main differences?

Sakane: In the US, nobody cares about derivative research. They truly pursue creating something genuinely new, uncharted territory. It's a culture where you're valued precisely for taking on that challenge. That's why I strongly felt innovation happens in this country. As I learned that know-how, research became incredibly enjoyable. I worked hard, thinking I'd eventually become a professor and aim for the world's best. Gradually, results started coming.

That led to opportunities to present at high-level conferences, but there were tons of truly amazing people there—nerdy geniuses, for better or worse. Seeing these geniuses my age or younger, I thought, "I can't beat these guys..."

Kurane: That's when you turned toward business, or rather, took over your father's company for a time.

Sakane: Yes. I had left Japan because I refused when told to take over, so I returned, bowed my head, and said, "I was terribly rude back then. Could you please let me join the company?" (laughs).

Shifting from B2B to B2C

Kurashige: Seven Dreamers currently operates B2C businesses alongside its traditional B2B ventures in carbon and medical fields. But recently, your fully automatic laundry folding machine "Landroid," unveiled at this year's CEATEC, really boosted your visibility, right? When did you start developing consumer products?

Sakane: The first B2B medical product I developed became an instant hit and a highly profitable business. Because of that, about three years after I joined the company, my father said, "You've got this down now. So I'm going to do something else," and he left the company.

Kurashige: Eh... (laughs).

Sakane: That's how I became CEO. Since the very first thing I did hit it big, I thought it must have been beginner's luck. So, I decided to invest the profits from that into R&D for the next phase. That's when we started working on "Nastent" and "Landroid."

Kurashige: I see. What was the background for shifting to B2C?

Sakane: When I joined the company, I decided I'd only do business for 30 years. Specifically, I set the goal of growing the company to ¥350 billion in annual sales with a 20% operating profit margin, then retiring on my 30th birthday. But when I joined, sales were only around ¥6 billion, so I thought it was a long way off and pondered various strategies. Then I realized: even if we kept doing B2B M&A, we'd never reach ¥350 billion.

Selling finished products B2C commands higher prices than selling components B2B, so that would likely get us to our goal faster. Another major factor was the feeling that, despite our strong technical capabilities and constant creation of new products, we were completely unknown to the world and not directly contributing to it.

Kurane: So it's a bit invisible to consumers.

Sakane: Exactly. We decided starting B2C development because we found the work of delivering innovation directly to consumers, like Apple or Sony does, far more appealing.

Nastent, a nasal insertion device supporting restful sleep. Its tube is designed to minimize insertion pain and discomfort to near-zero levels, preventing airway obstruction that causes snoring and frequent awakenings during sleep. " I myself have sleep apnea and wanted to eliminate the inconvenience of CPAP therapy, which requires carrying machines and wearing masks," said Mr. Sakane, who developed it from the patient's perspective.

Seven Dreamers spent ten years developing the fully automatic laundry folding machine "Landroid" (photo shows mock-up). By 2020, they envision adding washing and drying functions in stages. In collaboration with Daiwa House, they also plan to develop a built-in model that automatically sorts and transports clothes to each family member's room.

Three non-negotiable criteria

Kurane: When selecting product development themes, do you have criteria like this?

Sakane: Yes. Three criteria: ① It must be something not yet in the world, ② It must be a product closely integrated into daily life, and ③ It must present an extremely high technical hurdle.

Kurashige: Is that to prevent other companies from catching up?

Sakane: Exactly. If a project meets these three criteria, we challenge ourselves to pursue it regardless of the field. As a result, the three products we've announced so far ended up being in completely different fields.

Kurashige: I see. So, are you the one who actually makes that judgment, Mr. Sakane?

Sakane: Yes. I start by saying, "Wouldn't it be great if we had something like this? Let's definitely do it!" But usually, the employees are completely taken aback by the idea (laughs).

The most intense reaction was for Landroid. When we started development in 2005, employees were like, "This company is going down the drain, right?" or "The president has lost his mind."

Kurashige: For engineers, suddenly diving into R&D in an unknown field might naturally cause resistance. How do you handle staffing?

Sakane: I don't really care much about a team member's background or experience. Even with Landroid, I selected members who seemed passionate and tenacious, even if they had zero knowledge of the image recognition technology or AI we were building into the product, and we developed it from scratch.

Kurashige: Beyond staffing, what other approaches do you take to foster innovation?

Sakane: A common pitfall for R&D-focused manufacturers like us is treating our core technologies—like the image recognition, robotics, and AI we built for Landroid—as proprietary assets. But when you start with the technology first, you inevitably fall into derivative thinking: "Can we apply or expand this technology?"

So, regarding our internal technologies, we don't look at them at all—well, almost never. We also don't pay much attention to what's happening around us. We focus solely on needs like, "This would definitely make life easier," or "This would absolutely be fun."

Kurane: So you don't research other companies' new products?

Sakane: I do get curious about what others have worked hard to create. But if I learn about it, our ideas start leaning that way, so I avoid research. If we start thinking, "This is good. Maybe we should do it like this," then it's no longer the kind of innovation we envision.

Also, once we decide on a development theme, we start by checking if absolutely no one in the world is doing it. The moment we find out someone is, we drop it.

The more people oppose it, the better it is

Kurashige: Of the criteria you've shared so far—① something not yet in the world, ② a product closely tied to daily life—the third one, "extremely high technical hurdles," is particularly fascinating.

Sakane: Even if something doesn't exist yet and people wish it did, we won't pursue it if it's too easy. We only tackle things that are technically challenging – things that make us think, "This is going to be tough."

Kurashige: Is it about making it impossible for competitors to catch up, or does a high hurdle also motivate the development team differently?

Sakane: Exactly. Regardless of the technical difficulty, I believe many people have the same idea. They just haven't pursued it for various reasons. Among those, the higher the hurdle, the fewer people attempt it, making it possible to become the only one.

Also, though I don't often say this publicly, the more others oppose a theme, the better it absolutely is. When you deliberately tackle something that faces significant opposition, your initial feeling of "This is good" transforms into the conviction that "This theme is definitely right." Things that get an immediate "President, that's great!" reaction are usually no good.

Kurane: Why is that?

Sakane: The more people say it's good, the higher the chance that if you look closely, someone has already beaten you to it. Or, by the time you finish, it's no longer innovative.

Kurashige: I see. It's true that unless a product emerges and only then reveals the latent need, it can't truly surprise the world, right?

Sakane: Exactly. For example, if 99 out of 100 people oppose it, that means there's absolutely no precedent. And even if someone else tries to do the same thing around the same time, they'll definitely get crushed by others. If you face that much opposition, you can't see it through to the end. So my development history is a history of fighting opposition.

As I mentioned earlier, when we were developing Landroid, there was nothing but opposition within the company. After two or three years of trying and getting nowhere, about half the team actually quit.

Kurane: Is there a trick to overcoming negative opinions and making things happen?

Sakane: Honestly, it's all about brainwashing (laughs). You just keep telling the team every day, "We absolutely can do this," and "Once we do, it'll sell." But strangely enough, those words become a kind of magic spell, and one day, it actually happens.

Kurashige: By the way, what kind of "opposition" are you fighting lately?

Sakane: Probably the business model... For example, I often meet with investors who say things like, "What kind of business portfolio does your company have in the first place?" or "If you stop selling other products and focus solely on this one, then I'd consider investing."

But honestly, I think the more opposition we face, the better. It doesn't feel strange to us, but the fact that our product lineup and development style feel so strange to others probably means it's a business model no other company would attempt. Even if they tried, they'd likely be crushed. That means it's a one-of-a-kind business model, right? It means we have the potential to become a truly unique company.

Kurane: It's like we're punching holes in history.

Sakane: Since we're just starting out with this business model, it might feel jarring now. But if we become a truly recognized brand in five or ten years, I think we'll be the kind of company that makes people excited, like, "That company is super cool—what are they going to do next?"